00 or ,= behind the comma

English translation: not in English!

10:45 Mar 21, 2013
Dutch to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Accounting / General
Dutch term or phrase: 00 or ,= behind the comma
Can anyone tell me if the Dutch practice to write amounts as follows:

€ 150,- or € 150,=

whereby the - or = means 00, is accepted and recognized in other countries, or should ",00" always be used?
I can't find this anywhere on internet.

Many thanks for your help!
SandraBlank
Local time: 08:00
English translation:not in English!
Explanation:
The Dutch practice to write amounts as follows:

€ 150,- or € 150,=

whereby the - or = means 00, is NOT accepted and recognised in US or UK English.

Personally, I would write:

€ 150,- or € 150,=

like this:

€150 or €150.00

Hope this helps!
Selected response from:

Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:00
Grading comment
First validated answer (validated by peer agreement)



Summary of answers provided
4 +3not in English!
Michael Beijer
5 -2both ok but with a full stop
W Schouten
Summary of reference entries provided
Depends on country and language
Steven Segaert
komma of punt bij decimale getallen
sindy cremer

Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -2
both ok but with a full stop


Explanation:
full stop is used in stead of a comma

W Schouten
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:00
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch, Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  David Walker (X)
20 mins
  -> thanks

neutral  Steven Segaert: I think you need to explain that a bit more :-). In Dutch, the "," is used to indicate decimals. In English, "." is used. Is that what you mean?
23 mins

disagree  sindy cremer: Sorry, have to disagree: Dutch uses a comma!
24 mins

disagree  Jack den Haan: As Sindy points out, Dutch uses a comma as decimal separator (and a period/full stop as thousands separator). The minus sign following the comma is further more common than the equal sign, IMHO.
32 mins
  -> I thought the questioner asked for the English practice

disagree  Michael Beijer: I think you misunderstood the question.
2 hrs
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
- or ,= behind the comma
not in English!


Explanation:
The Dutch practice to write amounts as follows:

€ 150,- or € 150,=

whereby the - or = means 00, is NOT accepted and recognised in US or UK English.

Personally, I would write:

€ 150,- or € 150,=

like this:

€150 or €150.00

Hope this helps!

Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:00
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 28
Grading comment
First validated answer (validated by peer agreement)
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks for your help and explanation, this is exactly what I wanted to know (and I guess I should apologize to all others for the confusion!) Best regards, Sandra


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Kitty Brussaard
50 mins
  -> Thanks, Kitty!

agree  writeaway: not sure the question only pertains to English but a second agree here will close it and put the question of its misery. This is getting to be ietsje 'te'. Isn't this the same answer you disagreed with above?/so it applies to all other languages!
1 hr
  -> I disagreed with W Scouten's answer because it is an answer to the wrong question. The question is about the peculiar Dutch habit of finishing amounts with a - or ,=. It isn't about commas vs. full stops.

agree  Frank van Thienen (X)
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Frank!
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Reference comments


35 mins peer agreement (net): +5
Reference: Depends on country and language

Reference information:
For the (historical) difference between Belgian-Dutch and Netherlands-Dutch, see http://taaladvies.net/taal/advies/vraag/275. In Belgium, we don't really use the ",-" or ",00" very much.

To know what to do in official publications, please check the documentation provided by the EU: http://publications.europa.eu/code/nl/nl-000500.htm - there are language-specific instructions for every language. In EU documents in Dutch, the ",00" or ",-" is not used.

When in doubt, I personally use the suggestions made by the EU for EU-documents. If only to achieve consistency.


    Reference: http://taaladvies.net/taal/advies/vraag/275
    Reference: http://publications.europa.eu/code/nl/nl-000500.htm
Steven Segaert
Estonia
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch, Native in FlemishFlemish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Gerard de Noord
13 mins
agree  sindy cremer
27 mins
agree  Michael Beijer
1 hr
agree  W Schouten: and I did get the question wrong, sorry
2 hrs
  -> No apologies for trying to help! ;-)
agree  Kitty Brussaard
2 hrs
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40 mins
Reference: komma of punt bij decimale getallen

Reference information:
http://taaladvies.net/taal/advies/vraag/462

sindy cremer
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch
PRO pts in category: 4
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